Wire-gate fastener.



A. J. MURRAY.

`WIRE GATE FASTENER. APPLlcATxoN HLED MN. 10, 191s.

Patented Jim. 16, 19W.

ARCHIBALD J'.-MURRAY, 0F UNITY, OREGON.

WIRE-GATE FASTENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented dan. 16, 191%,

Application filed January 10, 1916. Serial No. 71,256.

To all w/tom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ARCHIBALD J. MUR- RAY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Unity, in the county of Baker, State of 5 Oregon,have invented a new and useful VVire-Gate Fastener; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full7 clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to a wire gate fastening device, and hasfor its object to provide a locking lever which embodies novel featuresof construction whereby a barbed wire or wire net gate may be drawn tantand securely fastened.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a device of thischaracter which is comparatively simple and inexpensive in itsconstruction, which can be used in connection with the conventionalforms of wire gates such as must be drawn taut in order toD be closed,which can be very easily manipulated, and which admits of the gate beingquickly released or locker.

lllith these and other objects in view, the invention consists incertain novel combinations and arrangements of the parts as will morefully appear as the description procceds, the novel features thereofbeing pointed out in the appended claim.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to thefollowing description and accompanying drawing, in which f Figure 1 is afront elevation of a wire gate provided with a locking lever constructedin accordance with the invention, the said locking lever being shown byfull lines in operative position and by dotted lines in the positionassumed when being placed in engagement with the gate preparatory tostretching and locking the same. 2 is a similar view on a larger scale,the locking lever being shown by full lines in 'operative position, andby dotted lines in the position assumed when not in use. Fig. 3 is a topplan view of the locking device, showing the same in operative position.Fig. 4 is a detail view showing a slight modification.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a Wire fence of theconven tional construction, 2 a gate post and 3 a latch post, the saidposts being arranged on opposite sides of the gate opening. The

gate includes the two upright end bars 4 and 5 which are connected bythe longitudinally extending wires 6, the end bar 4 being looselyengaged by loops 7 which project from the top and bottom of the gatepost lever being curved or deflected downwardly so as to be disposed atan angle to the body portion of the lever, and terminating in alaterally projecting arm 12. The opposite end of the locking leverterminates in a handle 10b which is oifset laterally so that it willclear the latch post 3 and can be easily grasped by the hands at anyposition of the lever. A locking hook 13 extends beyond the lever 10 andhas the shank thereof pivotally connected at 14 to the said lockinglever. This pivot point 14 is on the opposite side of the pivot bolt 11from the arm 12, both the arm 12 and pivot point 14 being spacedsubstantially equal distances from the pivot bolt 11. rlhe shank of thelocking hook 13 may be offset laterally a slight amount to clear theheadof the main pivot bolt 11 as the locking lever is swung about itspivot, although in side elevation the shank of the hook is substantiallystraight, so that when the end of the hook rests upon the lateral arm 12the shank thereof is on one side of the pivot bolt 11.

The locking hook 13 is designed to engage the locking loop 9 of the wiregate, and when the locking lever 10 is swung upwardly and forwardly, thehook 13 is moved toward the gate so that it can be readily placed inengagement with the loop 9 while the wires of the gate are loose. rllhelocking lever is then swung rearwardly and downwardly into the positionindicated by full lines on Figs. 1 and 2, thereby drawing the lockinghook 13 rearwardly so as to stretch the wires of the gate and draw thegate taut. Just before the lever 10 reaches a locking position the shankof the hook 13 will be brought into alinement with the body of the lever10, thereby producing a dead center between the pivotal mounting of thelocking lever and the pivotal connection of the hook 13 thereof. Acontinued movement of the lockinglever swings the hook 13 beyond thedead center and the hook then engages and seats upon the laterallyprojecting arm 12. The gate is thus locked in a taut condition, and thegreater the pull of the gate, the more secure is the locking. Theextremity of the laterallyY projecting arm 12 Vis provided withv anupwardlyprojecting guard finger 12"L which serves to engage the hookwhen in a locking position so that it will be impossible for pressure ofstock against the gate to move the hook laterally beyond the end of thearm 12 and thereby release the latch. It will be understood that whenclosing the gateV the lower end of the upright bar 5 will be inserted inthe loop 8 before the locking hook 13 is caused to engage the loop 9.vWire gates of this character are eX- tensively used on ranches andlarge estates, and ordinarily the upper' end of the upright gate bar issecured to the post by a rope, although when a rope is used it is almostimpossible to fasten the gate sufficiently tight toprevent stock fromgetting through the same, and much time is lost in fastening andunfastening the ropes. Vitli the present'ldevice the gate is easily andquickly drawn perfectly taut' and securely locked so as to preventl anypossibility of stock gettingthrough or unfastening the same. In order torelease the fastener, the locking ,lever may either be forcibly swungdownwardly so as to swing the hook member upwardly out'of engagementwith the loop 9 of theV gate, or it may be swung upwardly so as torelease the tension in the gate before Y disengaging. the hook memberfrom the loop. n Y

A slight modification is shown by Fig. 4, in which the laterallyprojecting arm 12 of the locking lever is provided with a notched seat12bfor" engagement with the hook 13 when thelatter is inY lockingposition.V VThe hook is thus locked against lateral play upon the arm,thereby relieving the pivot member 14 at the end of the hook of aconsiderable amount of strain. The hook will aiutomatically becomeseated in the notch 12b as it is swung beyond the dead center positionby the usual manipulations of the locking lever 10.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

The herein described wire gate fastener, including a looped keeperadapted to be applied to the end bar of a flexible wire gate, a headedpivot bolt adapted to be applied to the latch post, a locking leverpivotally mounted upon the said pivot bolt and provided at the pivot endthereof with an extension which is arranged at an angle to the bodyportion of the locking lever, said extension terminating in a laterallyprojecting arm which is provided at the end thereof with an upwardlyextending guard linger, and a hooked member pivotally eonneetedto thelocking lever at a point spaced from the pivot bolt and on the oppositeside from the extension, said hook member being adapted to engage thelooped keeper to draw the gate taut, and the body portion of the hookmember being offset outwardly to clear the head of the pivot bolt, theswinging movement of the locking lever incident to tightening the gatebringing the hook member slightly beyond a dead center position and intoengagement with the laterally projecting arm, the pull of the gate thenholding the hook member in operative position and the upwardlyprojecting guard finger preventing the hook member from becominglaterally disengaged from the arm.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this speciication in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARCHIE J. MURRAY.

Witnesses:

E. A. LANDIS, A. A. SMITH.

/ opesjof'this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of latents,

' g Y Washington, D. C.

